Having dispatched this business, Sir John Burrough had leisure to takesuch a survey of the goods in his prize, as the convenience of the seaswould admit; and seeing many inclined to commit spoil and pillage, hevery prudently seized upon the whole in the name of her majesty. He thenmade a cursory inspection of the cargo, and perceived that the wealthwould be fully answerable to expectation, and would be more thansufficient to content both the desires of the adventurers, and thefatigues and dangers of the captors. I cannot here refrain fromacknowledging the great favour of God to our nation, by putting thisrich prize into our hands, thereby manifestly discovering the secretsand riches of the trade of India, which had hitherto lain strangelybidden and cunningly concealed from our knowledge, only a very imperfectglimpse of it being seen by a few, while it is now turned into the broadlight of full and perfect knowledge. Whence it would appear to be thewill of God for our good, if only our weakness would so apprehend it,that we should participate in those East Indian treasures, by theestablishment of a lawful traffic, to better our means of advancing thetrue religion and the holy service of God.

This carak, in the judgment of those most experienced, was of not lessthan 1600 tons burden, 900 of which were stowed full of richmerchandize; the remainder being allowed partly for the ordnance, whichwere 32 pieces of brass cannon of all sorts, and partly to the shipscompany, passengers, and victuals, which last could not be a smallquantity, considering the length of the voyage, and that there werebetween six and seven hundred persons on board. To give a taste as itwere of the commodities, it may suffice to give a general enumeration ofthem, according to the catalogue made out at Leadenhall, London, on the15th September 1592. After the jewels, which were certainly of greatvalue, though they never came to light, the principal wares consisted ofspices, drugs, silks, calicoes, quilts, carpets, and colours, &c. Thespices were pepper, cloves, mace, nutmegs, cinnamon, green ginger. Thedrugs, benzoin, frankincense, gallinga, mirabolans, socotorine aloes,camphor. The silks, damasks, taffetas, sarcenets, _altobassos_ orcounterfeit cloth of gold, unwrought China silk, sleaved silk, whitetwisted silk, and curled cypress. The calicoes were book-calicoe,calicoe-lawns, broad white calicoes, fine starched calicoes, coarsewhite calicoes, brown broad calicoes, brown coarse calicoes. There werealso canopies, and coarse diaper towels, quilts of coarse sarsenet, andof calico, and carpets like those of Turkey. Likewise pearls, musk,civet, and ambergris. The rest of the wares were many in number, butless in value; as elephants teeth, porcelain vessels of China, coconuts, hides, ebony as black as jet, bedsteads of the same, curious clothmade of the rind of trees, &c. All which piles of merchandize, beingvalued at a reasonable rate by men of approved judgment, amounted to noless than 150,000 pounds Sterling, which being divided among theadventurers, of whom her majesty was the chief, was sufficient tocontent all parties.

The cargo being taken out, and the goods reloaded on board ten of ourships to be sent to London, one Mr Robert Adams, a man of excellentskill, took the exact bigness, height, length, breadth, and otherdimensions of this huge vessel, that these might be preserved accordingto the exact rules of geometrical proportions, both for presentknowledge and transmission to posterity, omitting nothing which eitherhis art could demonstrate, or any mans judgment think worthy of beingknown. After an exact survey of the whole frame, he found the extremelength, from the beak head to the stern, where a lantern was erected,165 feet. The breadth, in the second close deck, of which she had three,but this the broadest, was 46 feet 10 inches. At her departure fromCochin in India, her draught of water was 31 feet; but at her arrival inDartmouth, not above 26, being lightened 5 feet during her voyage byvarious causes. She contained 7 several stories; viz. one main orlop,three close decks, one forecastle, and a spar deck of two floors each.The length of the keel was 100 feet, of the main-mast 121 feet, and itscircumference at the partners was 10 feet 7 inches. The main-yard was106 feet long. By this accurate mensuration, the hugeness of the wholeis apparent, and far beyond the mould of the largest ships used amongus, either for war or cargo.

Don Alonso de Bacan, having a greater fleet, and yet suffering these twogreat caraks to be lost, the Santa Cruz burnt, and the Madre de Diostaken, was disgraced by the king of Spain for his negligence.

SECTION XV.

_The taking of two Spanish Ships, laden with quicksilver and the Popesbulls, in 1592, by Captain Thomas White_.[390]

While returning from Barbary in the Amity of London, and in the latitudeof 36 deg. N. at 4 in the morning of the 26th of July 1592, Captain Whitegot sight of two ships at the distance of three or four leagues. Givingimmediate chace, he came within gun-shot of them by 7 o'clock; and bytheir boldness in shewing Spanish colours, he judged them rather to beships of war than laden with merchandize; indeed, by their ownconfession afterwards, they made themselves so sure of taking him, thatthey debated among themselves whether it were better for them to carryhis ship to San Lucar or Lisbon. After waving each other amain, theSpaniards placed themselves in order of battle, a cables length beforethe other, when the fight began, both sides charging and firing as fastas they were able, at the distance of a cables length, for the space offive hours. In this time, the Amity received 32 great shots in her hull,masts, and sails, besides at least 500 iron muskets and arquebuses,which were counted after the fight.

[Footnote 390: Astley, I. 249. The editor of Astleys collection gives nonotice of the source whence he procured this narrative. The Spanishships with quicksilver are usually called _azogue_ or _assogue_ ships;the word assogue signifying quicksilver.--E.]

Finding them to make so stout a resistance, Captain White attempted toboard the Biscaian, which was foremost; and after lying on board aboutan hour, plying his ordnance and small shot, he _stowed all hermen_[391]. At this time, the other vessel, which was a fliboat, thinkingCaptain White had boarded her consort with all his men, _bore room withhim_[392], intending to have laid him close on board, so as to entraphim between both ships, and place him between two fires. Perceiving thisintention, he fitted his ordnance in such sort as to get quit of her, sothat she boarded her consort, and both fell from him. Mr White now kepthis loof, hoisted his main-sails, and weathering both ships, came closeaboard the fliboat, to which he gave his whole broadside, by whichseveral of her men were slain, as appeared by the blood running from herscuppers. After this he tacked about, new charged all his ordnance, andcoming round again upon both ships, ordered them to yield or he wouldsink them outright. One of them being shot between wind and water, wouldhave complied, but the other called him a traitor; on which CaptainWhite called out, that if he also did not presently yield, he would sinkhim first. Intimidated by this threat, they both hung out white flagsand yielded; yet refused to strike their own sails, as they had swornnot to strike to any Englishman.

[Footnote 391: This expression seems to mean, that he forced them to runbelow.--E.]

[Footnote 392: That is, bore down upon him.--E.]

He then commanded the captains and masters to come on board the Amity,where they were examined and placed in safe custody; after which he sentsome of his own men on board both ships to strike the sails and manthem. There were found in both, 126 persons alive, with eight deadbodies, besides those that had been cast overboard. This victory wasobtained by 42 men and a boy, of whom two were slain and three wounded.The two prizes were laden with 1400 chests of quicksilver, marked withthe arms of Castile and Leon, besides a vast quantity of bulls orindulgences, and ten packs of gilded missals and breviaries, all on thekings account. Also an hundred tons of excellent wine, intended for thesupply of the royal fleet; all of which Captain White brought shortlyafterwards to Blackwall in the river Thames.

By this capture of quicksilver, the king of Spain lost for every quintala quintal of silver, that should have been delivered to him by themine-masters in Peru, amounting in value to L.600,000. There werelikewise 2,072,000 bulls for living and dead persons, intended for theuse of New Spain, Yucatan, Guatimala, Honduras, and the Philippineislands, taxed at two ryals each; besides 18,000 bulls at four ryals;amounting in all to L.107,700: So that the total loss to the king ofSpain was L.707,700, not reckoning the loss and disappointment by themass-books and wine.

SECTION XVI.

_Narrative of the Destruction of a great East India Carak, in 1594,written by Captain Nicholas. Downton_[393].

In the latter end of the year 1593, the right honourable the earl ofCumberland, at his own charges and those of his friends, fitted outthree ships of equal size and rates, having each the same quantity ofprovisions and the same number of men. These were, the Royal Exchange,which went as admiral, commanded by Captain George Cave; the May-flower,vice-admiral, commanded by Captain William Anthony; and the Sampson,which my lord was pleased to commit to me, Nicholas Downton. In all thethree ships there were embarked 420 men of all sorts, or 140 in each.Besides these, there, was a pinnace: called the Violet, or _Why-not-I._

[Footnote 393: Hakluyt, III. 14. Astley, I 250.]

Our instructions were sent to us at Plymouth, and we were directed toopen them at sea. The 6th of April 1594, we set sail from Plymouthsound, directing our course for the coast of Spain. The 24th, being thenin lat. 43 deg. N; we divided ourselves east and west from each other, onpurpose to keep a good look out, with orders from our admiral to closeup again at night. In the morning of the 27th, we descried theMay-flower and the little pinnace, in company with a prize they hadtaken belonging to Viana in Portugal, and bound for Angola. This vesselwas about 28 tons burden, having 17 persons on board, with some 12 tonsof wine, which we divided among our ships, together with some rusk inchests and barrels, 5 bales of coarse blue cloth, and some coarse linenfor negroes shirts; all of which goods were divided among our fleet. The4th of May, we had sight again of our pinnace and the admirals shallop,which had taken three Portuguese caravels, two of which we sent away andkept the third. The 2d June we came in sight of St Michaels. The 3d wesent off our pinnace, which was about 24 tons burden, together with thesmall caravel we had taken off the Burlings, to range about theanchorages of the Azores, trying to make captures of any thing theycould find, appointing them to meet with us at a rendezvous 12 leaguesW.S.W. from Fayal. Their going from us served no purpose, and was amisfortune, as they omitted joining us when appointed, and we alsomissed them when they might have been of much service.

The 13th of June we fell in with a mighty carak from the East Indies,called _Las cinquellagues_, or the five wounds. The May-Flower was insight of her before night, and I got up with her in the evening. While Ihad ordered our men to give her a broadside, and stood carefullyexamining her strength, and where I might give council to board her inthe night when the admiral came up, I received a shot a little above thebelly, by which I was rendered unserviceable for a good while after, yetno other person in my ship was touched that night. Fortunately, by meansof one captain Grant, an honest true-hearted man, nothing was neglectedthough I was thus disabled. Until midnight, when the admiral came up,the May-Flower and the Sampson never desisted from plying her with ourcannon, taking it in turns: But then captain Cave wished us to stay tillmorning, when each of us was to give her three broadsides, and then layher on board; but we long lingered in the morning till 10 o'clock,before we attempted to board her.

The admiral then laid her on board amid ships, and the May-Flower cameup on her quarter, as if to take her station astern of our admiral onthe larboard side of the carak; but the captain of the May-Flower wasslain at the first coming up, on which his ship fell astern on the_outlicar_[394] of the carak, a piece of timber, which so tore herforesail that they said they could not get up any more to fight, asindeed they did not, but kept aloof from us all the rest of the action.The Sampson went aboard on the bow of the carak, but had not roomenough, as our quarter lay on the bow of the Exchange, and our bow onthat of the carak. At the first coming up of the Exchange, her captainMr Cave was wounded in both legs, one of which he never recovered, sothat he was disabled from doing his duty, and had no one in his absencethat would undertake to lead his company to board the enemy. My friend,captain Grant, led my men up the side of the carak; but his force beingsmall, and not being manfully seconded by the crew of the Exchange, theenemy were bolder than they would have been, so that six of my men werepresently slain, and many more wounded; which made those that remainedreturn on board, and they would never more give the assault. Some of theExchanges men did very well, and I have no doubt that many more wouldhave done the like, if there had been any principal men to have led themon, and not to have run into corners themselves. But I must allow thatthe carak was as well provided for defence as any ship I have seen; andperhaps the Portuguese were encouraged by our slackness, as they pliedour men from behind barricades, where they were out of danger from ourshot. They plied us also with wildfire, by which most of our men wereburnt in some parts of their body; and while our men were busied inputting out the fire, the enemy galled them sore with small arms anddarts. This unusual casting of wildfire did much dismay many of our men,and caused them greatly to hang back.

[Footnote 394: Probably a boom or outrigger for the management of theafter-sails.--E.]

Finding that our men would not again board, we plied our great ordnanceat them, elevated as much as possible, as otherwise we could do themlittle harm. By shooting a piece from our forecastle, we set fire to amat at the beak head of the enemy, which kindled more and more,communicating from the mat to the boltsprit, and thence to thetop-sail-yard; by which fire the Portuguese abaft were much alarmed, andbegan to make show of a parley: But their officers encouraged them,alleging that the fire could be easily extinguished, on which they againstood stiffly to their defence; yet at length the fire grew so strong,that I plainly saw it was beyond all help, even if she had yielded tous. We then wished to have disentangled ourselves from the burningcarak, but had little hope of success; yet we plied water with greatdiligence to keep our ship safe. At this time I had little hope but ourship, myself, and several of our wounded men must have been alldestroyed along with the carak. Most of our people indeed might havesaved themselves in boats on board our consorts. When we were at theworst, by Gods providence our spritsail-yard with the sail and ropes,which were fast entangled with the spritsail-yard of the carak, were soburned that we fell away, with the loss of some of our sails. TheExchange also, being farther aft and more distant from the fire, wasmore easily cleared, and fell off abaft.

As soon as God had put us out of danger, the fire caught hold of theforecastle of the carak, where I think there was great store of benzoin,or some such combustible matter, for it flamed and flowed over thecarak, which was almost in an instant all over in flames. The Portuguesenow leapt over-board in great numbers, and I sent captain Grant withthe boat, bidding him use his discretion in saving them. He brought meon board two gentlemen. One of them was an old man named Nuno VelioPereira, who had been governor of Mozambique and Sofala in the year1582, and had since been governor of a place of importance in the EastIndies. The ship in which he was coming home was cast away a little tothe east of the Cape of Good Hope, whence he travelled by land toMozambique, and got a passage in this carak. The other was named BrasCarrero, who was captain of a carak that was cast away at Mozambique,and came likewise as a passenger in this ship. Also three men of theinferior sort; but only these two gentlemen we clothed and brought hometo England. The rest, and others which were saved by our other boats,were all set on shore on the island of Flores, except two or threenegroes, one of whom was a native of Mozambique, and the other of theEast Indies.

This fight took place in the open sea, 6 leagues to the southward of thesound or channel between Fayal and Pico. The people whom we savedinformed us, that the cause of the carak refusing to yield was, that sheand all her goods belonged to the king, being all that had beencollected for him that year in India, and that the captain of her wasgreatly in favour with the king, and expected to have been made viceroyof India at his return. This great carak was by no means lumbered,either within board or on deck, being more like a ship of war than amerchant vessel; and, besides her own men and guns, she had the crew andordnance that belonged to another carak that was cast away atMozambique, and the crew of another that was lost a little way to theeast of the Cape of Good Hope. Yet, through sickness caught at Angola,where they watered, it was said she had not now above 150 white men onboard, but a great many negroes. They likewise told us there were threenoblemen and three ladies on board; but we found them to disagree muchin their stories. The carak continued to burn all the rest of that dayand the succeeding night; but next morning, on the fire reaching herpowder, being 60 barrels, which was in the lowest part of her hold, sheblew up with a dreadful explosion, most of her materials floating abouton the sea. Some of the people said she was larger than the Madre deDios, and some that she was less. She was much undermasted andundersailed, yet she went well through the water, considering that shewas very foul. The shot we made at her from the cannon of our ship,before we laid her on board, might be seven broadsides of six or sevenshots each, one with another, or about 49 shots in all. We lay on boardher about two hours, during which we discharged at her about 20 sacreshots. Thus much may suffice for our dangerous conflict with thatunfortunate carak.

On the 30th of June, after traversing the seas, we got sight of anotherhuge carak, which some of our company took at first for the great SanPhilippo, the admiral of Spain; but on coming up with her next day, wecertainly perceived her to be a carak. After bestowing some shots uponher, we summoned her to yield, but they stood stoutly on their defence,and utterly refused to strike. Wherefore, as no good could be donewithout boarding, I consulted as to what course we should follow forthat purpose; but as we, who were the chief captains, were partly slainand the rest wounded in the former conflict, and because of themurmuring of some disorderly and cowardly fellows, all our resolutedeterminations were crossed: To conclude in a few words, the carakescaped our hands. After this, we continued to cruize for some timeabout Corvo and Flores, in hopes of falling in with some ships from theWest Indies; but, being disappointed in this expectation, and provisionsfalling short, we returned for England, where I arrived at Portsmouth onthe 28th of August 1594.

SECTION XVII.

_List of the Royal Navy of England of the demise of QueenElizabeth_[395].

The following list of the royal navy of England, as left in goodcondition by Queen Elizabeth at her death in 1603, was written by SirWilliam Monson, a naval officer of that and the two following reigns,"By which, he observes, she and her realm gained honour, by the exploitsand victories they and her subjects obtained." It would occupy too muchspace to give a contrasted list of the royal navy in the present year,1813; but which our readers can easily obtain from the monthly listspublished at London.

[Footnote A: The difference between mariners and sailors is not obvious:Perhaps the former were what are now called ordinary, and the latterable seamen. Besides, the numbers of both these united, do not make upthe whole compliment of men at sea: Perhaps the deficiency, being 40 inthe largest ships of this list, was made up by what were then called_grummets:_ servants, ship-boys, or landsmen.--E.]

[Footnote B: This name ought probably to have been the Cygnet.]

CHAPTER IX.

EARLY VOYAGES OF THE ENGLISH TO THE EAST INDIES, BEFORE THEESTABLISHMENT OF AN EXCLUSIVE COMPANY.

SECTION I.

_Voyage to Goa in 1579, in the Portuguese fleet, by ThomasStevens_[396].

INTRODUCTION.

We now begin to draw towards India, the following being the firstvoyage we know of, that was performed to that country by any Englishman.Though Stevens was only a passenger in the ship of another nation, yetthe account he gave of the navigation was doubtless one of the motivesthat induced his countrymen to visit India a few years afterwards intheir own bottoms. Indeed the chief and more immediate causes seem tohave been the rich caraks, taken in the cruizing voyages against theSpaniards and Portuguese about this time, which both gave the Englishsome insight into the India trade, and inflamed their desire ofparticipating in so rich a commerce.

[Footnote 396: Hakluyt, II, 581. Astley, I. 191.]

The account of this voyage is contained in the following letter fromThomas Stevens, to his father Thomas Stevens in London: In this letter,preserved by Hakluyt, several very good remarks will be found respectingthe navigation to India, as practised in those days; yet no mention ismade in the letter, as to the profession of Stevens, or on what occasionhe went to India. By the letters of Newberry and Fitch[397], which willbe found in their proper place, written from Goa in 1584, it appearsthat he was a priest or Jesuit, belonging to the college of St Paul atthat place; whence it may be concluded that the design of his voyage wasto propagate the Romish religion in India. In a marginal note to one ofthese letters, Hakluyt intimates that _Padre_ Thomas Stevens was born inWiltshire, and was sometime of New College Oxford. He was veryserviceable to Newberry and Fitch, who acknowledge that they owed therecovery of their liberty and goods, if not their lives, to him andanother _Padre_. This is also mentioned by Pyrard de la Val, who wasprisoner at Goa in 1608, at which time Stevens was rector of MorganCollege in the island of Salcet[398]."--_Astley._

[Footnote 397: In Hakluyts Collection, new edition, II. 376. et seq.]

[Footnote 398: Purchas his Pilgrims, II. 1670.]

* * * * *

After most humble commendations to you and my mother, and craving yourdaily blessing, these are to certify you of my being alive, according toyour will and my duty. I wrote you that I had taken my journey fromItaly to Portugal, which letter I think came to your hands, in whichhope I have the less need to tell you the cause of my departing, whichin one word I may express, by naming _obedience_. I came to Lisbontowards the end of March, eight days before the departure of the ships,so late that, if they had not been detained about some importantaffairs, they had been gone before our arrival; insomuch that otherswere appointed to go in our stead, that the kings intention and oursmight not be frustrated. But on our sudden arrival, these others did notgo, and we went as originally intended.

The 4th of April, five ships departed for Goa, in which, besidesmariners and soldiers, there were a great number of children, who bearthe sea much better than men, as also do many women. I need not tellyou, as you may easily imagine the solemnity of setting out, with soundof trumpets and discharges of cannon, as they go forth in a warlikemanner. The 10th of the same month we came in sight of Porto Sancto nearMadeira, where an English ship set upon ours, now entirely alone, andfired several shots which did us no harm: But when our ship had run outher largest ordnance, the English ship made away from us. This Englishship was large and handsome, and I was sorry to see her so illoccupied, as she went roving about the seas, and we met her again at theCanaries, where we arrived on the 13th of the same month of April, andhad good opportunity to wonder at the high peaked mountain in the islandof Teneriffe, as we beat about between that island and Grand Canary forfour days with contrary winds, and indeed had such evil weather till the14th of May, that we despaired of being able to double the Cape of GoodHope that year. Yet, taking our course between Guinea and the Cape deVerd islands, without seeing any land at all, we arrived at the coast ofGuinea, as the Portuguese call that part of the western coast of Africain the torrid zone, from the lat. of 6 deg. N. to the equinoctial; in whichparts they suffer so much by extreme heats and want of wind, that theythink themselves happy when past it. Sometimes the ships stand quitestill and becalmed for many days, and sometimes they go on, but in sucha manner that they had almost as good stand still. The atmosphere on thegreatest part of this coast is never clear, but thick and cloudy, fullof thunder and lightening, and such unwholesome rain, that the water onstanding only a little while is full of animalculae, and by falling onany meat that is hung out, fills it immediately with worms.

All along that coast, we oftentimes saw a thing swimming in the waterlike a cocks comb but much fairer, which they call a _Guinea ship_[399].It is borne up in the water by a substance almost like the swimmingbladder of a fish in size and colour, having many strings from it underwater, which prevent it from being overturned. It is so poisonous, thatone cannot touch it without much danger. On this coast, between thesixth degree of north latitude and the equator, we spent no less thanthirty days either in calms or contrary winds. The 30th of May wecrossed the line with great difficulty, directing our course as well aswe could to pass the promontory[400], but in all that gulf of Guinea,and all the rest of the way to the Cape, we found such frequent calmsthat the most experienced mariners were much astonished. In places wherethere always used to be horrible tempests, we found most invinciblecalms, which were very troublesome to our ships, which being of thegreatest size cannot go without good winds; insomuch that when it isalmost an intolerable tempest for other ships, making them furl alltheir sails, those large ships display their sails to the wind and sailexcellent well, unless the waves be too furious, which seldom happenedin our voyage. You must understand that, when once past the line, theycannot go direct for the Cape the nearest way, but, according to thewind, must hold on as near south as they can till in the latitude of theCape, which is 35 deg. 30' S. They then shape their course to the east, andso get round the Cape. But the wind so served us at 33 degrees, that wedirected our course thence for the Cape.

[Footnote 399: Otherwise called, by the English sailors, a Portugueseman-of-war.--E.]

[Footnote 400: The Cape of Good Hope must be here meant.--E.]

You know that it is hard to sail from east to west, or the contrary,because there is no fixed point in all the sky by which they can directtheir course, wherefore I shall tell you what help God hath provided todirect them. There is not a fowl that appeareth, neither any sign in theair or in the sea, that have not been written down by those who haveformerly made these voyages; so that partly by their own experience,judging what space the ship was able to make with such and such a wind,and partly by the experience of others recorded in the books ofnavigations which they have, they guess whereabouts they may be inregard to longitude, for they are always sure as to latitude. But thegreatest and best direction of all is, to mark the variation of theneedle or mariners compass; which, in the meridian of the island of StMichael, one of the Azores in the same latitude with Lisbon, points duenorth, and thence swerveth so much towards the east, that, between theforesaid meridian and the extreme south point of Africa, it varieththree or four of the thirty-two points. Again, having passed a littlebeyond the cape called _das Agulias_, or of the Needles, it returnethagain towards the north; and when it hath attained that, it swervethagain toward the west proportionally, as it did before eastwards.

In regard to the first mentioned signs from fowls: The nearer we came tothe coast of Africa, the more kinds and greater number of strange fowlsappeared; insomuch that, when we came within not less than thirtyleagues, almost 100 miles, and 600 miles as we thought from any otherland, as good as 3000 fowls of sundry kinds followed our ship; some ofthem so great, that, when their wings were opened, they measured sevenspans from point to point of their wings, as the sailors said. It is amarvellous thing to think how God hath so provided for these fowls inso vast an expanse of sea, that they are all fat. The Portuguese havenamed them all, according to some obvious property. Thus they call some_rushtails_, because their tails are small and long like a rush, and notproportionate to their bodies; some _fork-tails_, because their tailsare very broad and forked; others again _velvet-sleeves_, because theirwings are like velvet, and are always bent like a mans elbow. This birdis always welcome, as it appears nearest the Cape. I should never havean end, were I to tell you all particulars, but shall touch on a fewthat may suffice, if you mark them well, to give cause for glorifyingGod in his wonderful works, and in the variety of his creatures.

To say something of fishes: In all the places of calms, and especiallyin the burning zone near the line, there continually waited on our shipcertain fishes, called _tuberones_[401] by the Portuguese, as long as aman, which came to eat such things as might fall from the ship into thesea, not even refusing men themselves if they could light upon any, andif they find any meat hung over into the sea, they seize it. These havewaiting upon them continually six or seven, small fishes, having blueand green bands round their bodies, like finely dressed serving men. Ofthese two or three always swim before the shark, and some on every side,[whence they are called _pilot fish_, by the English mariners.] Theyhave likewise other fishes [called _sucking fish_] which always cleaveto their bodies; and seem to feed on such superfluities as grow aboutthem, and they are said to enter into their bodies to purge them, whenneedful. Formerly the mariners used to eat the sharks, but since theyhave seen them devour men, their stomachs now abhor them; yet they drawthem up with great hooks, and kill as many of them as they can, thinkingthereby to take a great revenge. There is another kind of fish almost aslarge as a herring, which hath wings and flieth, and are very numerous.These have two enemies, one in the sea and the other in the air.

[Footnote 401: Evidently sharks, from the account of them.--E.]

That in the sea is the fish called _albicore_, as large as a salmon,which follows with great swiftness to take them; on which this poorfish, which cannot swim fast as it hath no fins, and only swims by themotion of its tail, having its wings then shut along the sides of itsbody, springeth out of the water and flieth, but not very high; on thisthe albicore, though he have no wings, giveth a great leap out of thewater, and sometimes catcheth the flying fish, or else keepeth in thewater, going that way as fast as the other flieth. When the flying fishis weary of the air, or thinketh himself out of danger, he returneth tothe water, where the albicore meeteth him; but sometimes his otherenemy, the sea-crow, catcheth him in the air before he falleth.

With these and the like sights, but always making our supplications toGod for good weather and the preservation of our ship, we came at lengthto the south cape of Africa, the ever famous Cape of Good Hope, so muchdesired yet feared of all men: But we there found no tempest, onlyimmense waves, where our pilot was guilty of an oversight; for, whereascommonly all navigators do never come within sight of land, but,contenting themselves with signs and finding the bottom, go their coursesafe and sure, he, thinking to have the winds at will, shot nigh theland; when the wind, changing into the south, with the assistance of themountainous waves, rolled us so near the land that we were in less than14 fathoms, only six miles from _Capo das Agulias_, and there we lookedto be utterly lost. Under us were huge rocks, so sharp and cutting thatno anchor could possibly hold the ship, and the shore was so excessivelybad that nothing could take the land, which besides is full of _tigers_and savage people, who put all strangers to death, so that we had nohope or comfort, but only in God and a good conscience. Yet, after wehad lost our anchors, hoisting up our sails to try to get the ship uponsome safer part of the coast, it pleased God, when no man looked forhelp, suddenly to fill our sails with a wind off the land, and so bygood providence we escaped, thanks be to God. The day following, beingin a place where they are always wont to fish, we also fell a fishing,and caught so many, that they served the whole ships company all thatday and part of the next. One of our lines pulled up a coral of greatsize and value; for it is said that in this place, which indeed we sawby experience, that the corals grow on the rocks at the bottom of thesea in the manner of stalks, becoming hard and red.

Our day of peril was the 29th of July. You must understand that, afterpassing the Cape of Good Hope, there are two ways to India, one withinthe island of Madagascar, or between that and Africa, called the Canalof Mozambique, which the Portuguese prefer, as they refresh themselvesfor a fortnight or a month at Mozambique, not without great need afterbeing so long at sea, and thence in another month get to Goa. The othercourse is on the outside of the island of St Lawrence or Madagascar,which they take when they set out too late, or come so late to the Capeas not to have time to stop at Mozambique, and then they go on theirvoyage in great heaviness, because in this way they have no port; and,by reason of the long navigation, and the want of fresh provisions andwater, they fall into sundry diseases. Their gums become sore, and swellin such a manner that they are fain to cut them away; their legs swell,and all their bodies become sore, and so benumbed that they cannot movehand nor foot, and so they die of weakness; while others fall intofluxes and agues, of which they die. This was the way we were forced totake; and, although we had above an hundred and fifty sick, there didnot die above seven or eight and twenty, which was esteemed a small lossin comparison with other times. Though some of our fraternity werediseased in this sort, thanks be to God I had good health the whole way,contrary to the expectation of many: May God send me as good health onthe land, if it may be to his glory and service. This way is full ofhidden rocks and quicksands, so that sometimes we dared not sail bynight; but by the goodness of God we saw nothing all the way to hurt us,neither did we ever find bottom till we came to the coast of India.

When we had again passed the line to the northward, and were come to thethird degree or somewhat more, we saw crabs swimming that were as red asif they had been boiled; but this was no sign of land. About theeleventh degree, and for many days, more than ten thousand fishescontinually followed, or were round about our ship, of which we caughtso many that we eat nothing else for fifteen days, and they served ourturn well; for at this time we had no meat remaining, and hardly anything else to eat, our voyage drawing nigh to seven months, whichcommonly is performed in five, when they take the inner passage. Thesefishes were no sign of land, but rather of deep sea. At length two birdswere caught of the hawk tribe, which gave our people great joy, thinkingthey had been birds of India, but we found afterwards that they werefrom Arabia; and when we thought we had been near India, we were in thelatitude of Socotoro, an island near the mouth of the Red Sea. Here Godsent us a strong wind from the N.E. or N.N.E. on which they bore awayunwillingly toward the east, and we ran thus for ten days without anysign of land, by which they perceived their error. Hitherto they haddirected their course always N.E. desiring to increase their latitude;but partly from the difference of the needle, and most of all becausethe currents at that time carried us N.W. we had been drawn into thisother danger, had not God sent us this wind, which at length became morefavourable and restored us to our right course.

These currents are very dangerous, as they deceive most pilots, and someare so little curious, contenting themselves with ordinary experience,that they do not take the trouble of seeking for new expedients whenthey swerve, neither by means of the compass nor by any other trial. Thefirst sign of approaching land was by seeing certain birds, which theyknew to be of India; the second was some sedges and boughs ofpalm-trees; the third was snakes swimming at the surface of the water,and a certain substance which they called _money_, as round and broad asa groat-piece, and wonderfully printed or stamped by nature, as if ithad been coined money. These two last signs are so certain, that theyalways see land next day, if the wind serve; which we did next day, whenall our water, for you know they have no beer in these parts, andvictuals began to fail us.

We came to Goa the 24th day of October, and were there received in amost charitable manner. The natives are tawny, but not disfigured intheir lips and noses, like the Moors and Kafrs of Ethiopia. The lowerranks go for the most part naked, having only a clout or apron beforethem of a span long and as much in breadth, with a lace two fingersbreadth, girded about with a string, and nothing more; and thus theythink themselves as well dressed as we, with all our finery. I cannotnow speak of their trees and fruits, or should write another letter aslong as this; neither have I yet seen any tree resembling any of those Ihave seen in Europe, except the vine, which here grows to littlepurpose, as all their wines are brought from Portugal. The drink used inthis country is water, or wine made from the coco palm-tree. Thus muchmust suffice for the present; but if God send me health, I shall haveopportunity to write you once again; but the length of this lettercompelleth me now to take my leave, with my best prayers for your mostprosperous health. From Goa, the 10th November 1579.--Your loving Son,

THOMAS STEVENS.

SECTION II.

_Journey to India over-land, by Ralph Fitch, Merchant of London, andothers, in 1583_[402].

INTRODUCTION

We learn from the following journal, that the present expedition wasundertaken at the instigation, and chiefly at the expence of Sir EdwardOsborne, Knight, and Mr Richard Staper, citizens and merchants ofLondon. Besides Fitch, the author of the narrative, Mr John Newbery,merchant, William Leedes jeweller, and James Story painter, were engagedin the expedition. The chief conduct of this commercial enterprizeappears to have been confided to John Newbery; and its object appears tohave been, to extend the trade, which the English merchants seem to haveonly recently established through Syria, by Aleppo, Bagdat and Basora,to Ormus and perhaps to Goa, in imitation of the Italians, so as toprocure the commodities of India as nearly as possible at first hand. Inthe prospect of being able to penetrate into India, and even into China,Newbery was furnished with letters of credence or recommendation, fromQueen Elizabeth to Zelabdim Echebar, stiled king of Cambaia, whocertainly appears to have been Akbar Shah, emperor of the Mogulconquerors of Hindostan, who reigned from 1556 to 1605; and to theemperor of China. The promoters of this enterprise, seem to have beenactuated by a more than ordinary spirit of research for those times, byemploying a painter to accompany their commercial agents. It is fartherpresumable that the promoters of the expedition, and their agents,Newbery and Fitch, were members of the Turkey company; and though thespeculation turned out unsuccessful, owing to causes sufficientlyexplained in the narrative and its accompanying documents, it isobviously a prelude to the establishment of the English East IndiaCompany; which, from small beginnings, has risen to a colossal height ofcommercial and sovereign grandeur, altogether unexampled in all history.

[Footnote 402: Hakluyt, II. 382.]

Hakluyt gives the following descriptive title of this uncommonly curiousand interesting narrative: "The voyage of Mr Ralph Fitch, merchant ofLondon, by the way of Tripolis in Syria to Ormus, and so to Goa in theEast India, to Cambaia, and all the kingdom, of Zelabdim Echebar thegreat Mogor, to the mighty river Ganges, and down to Bengala, to Bacolaand Chonderi, to Pegu, to Imahay in the kingdom of Siam, and back toPegu, and from thence to Malacca, Zeilan, Cochin, and all the coast ofthe East India; begun in the year of our Lord 1583, and ended in 1591:wherein the strange rites, manners, and customs of those people, and theexceeding rich trade and commodities of those countries, are faithfullyset down and diligently described, by the foresaid Mr Ralph Fitch."

Hakluyt has prefaced this journal, by several letters respecting thejourney, from Mr Newbery, and one from Mr Fitch, and gives by way ofappendix an extract from Linschoten, detailing the imprisonment of theadventurers at Ormus and Goa, and their escape, which happened while hewas at Goa, where he seems to have materially contributed to theirenlargement from prison. These documents will be found in the sequel tothe narrative of Mr Fitch.

It must not however be concealed, that the present journal has a veryquestionable appearance in regard to its entire authenticity, as it hasobviously borrowed liberally from that of Cesar Frederick, alreadyinserted in this work, Vol. VII. p. 142-244. It seems therefore highlyprobable, that the journal or narrative of Fitch may have fallen intothe hand of some ingenious _book-maker_, who wished to increase itsinterest by this unjustifiable art. Under these circumstances, we wouldhave been led to reject this article from our collection, were not itsgeneral authenticity corroborated by these other documents, and by thejournal of John Eldred, who accompanied Newbery and Fitch to Basora. Apart of the striking coincidence between the journals of Cesar Frederickand Ralph Fitch might have arisen from their having visited the sameplaces, and nearly by the same route, only at the distance of 20 years;Frederick having commenced his journey in 1563, and Newbery and Fitchtheirs in 1588. Some of the resemblances however could only have beenoccasioned by plagiarism.

It is very difficult to conceive how Fitch, after his imprisonment atGoa, and escape from thence under surety to the Portuguese viceroy,should have ventured in the sequel to visit the Portuguese settlementsin Ceylon, Cochin, Calicut, Goa even, Chaul, and Ormuz, on his way homeagain by Basora, Bagdat, Mosul, &c. to Aleppo and Tripoli. These partsof his journal, and his excursions to the north of Pegu, certainly havea suspicious appearance. It is possible that he may have described theseseveral routes, historically, in his own journal; and that somebook-maker, into whose hands his papers may have fallen, chose to givethese a more interesting appearance, by making Fitch the actor in whathe only described on the authority of others. It is strange that thesecircumstances should not have occurred to Hakluyt, as the narrative ofFitch is inserted in his collection immediately following that of CesarFrederick. Yet with these obvious faults, the relation of Fitch isinteresting, as the first direct attempt of the English to open a tradewith India; and so far at least, its authenticity is unquestionable,being corroborated by other documents that are not liable to thesmallest suspicion.--E.

* * * * *

In the year 1583, I Ralph Fitch of London, merchant, being desirous tosee the countries of the Eastern India, went in company with Mr JohnNewbery, merchant, who had been once before at Ormus, together withWilliam Leedes, jeweller, and James Story, painter; being chiefly setforth by the right worshipful Sir Edward Osburn, knight, and Mr RichardStaper, citizens and merchants of London. We shipped ourselves in a shipcalled the Tiger of London, in which we went to Tripoly in Syria, whencewe went with the caravan to Aleppo in seven days. Finding good companyat Aleppo, we went from thence to Birra [Bir,] which is two days and ahalf journey with camels.

Bir is a small town, but abounding in provisions, near which runs theriver Euphrates. We here purchased a boat, and agreed with a master andboatmen to carry us to Babylon [Bagdat]. These boats serve only for onevoyage, as the stream is so rapid that they cannot return. They carrypassengers to a town called Felugia [Feluchia], where the boat has to besold for very little money, what cost fifty pieces at Bir bringing onlyseven or eight at that place. From Bir to Feluchia is a journey ofsixteen days; but it is not good for one boat to go alone, as if itshould chance to break, it would be difficult to save the goods from theArabs, who are always robbing thereabouts, and it is necessary to keepgood watch in the night, when the boat is made fast, as the Arabs aregreat thieves, and will swim on board to steal your goods, and then fleeaway. Against them a musket is a good weapon, as they are much afraid offire-arms. Between Bir and Feluchia, there are certain places on theEuphrates where you have to pay custom, being so many _medins_ for a_some_ or camels load, together with certain quantities of raisins andsoap, which are for the sons of _Aborise_, who is lord of the Arabs andof that great desert, and hath some villages on the river. Feluchia,where the goods coming from Bir are unladed, is a small village, fromwhence you go to Bagdat in one day.

Babylon, or Bagdat, is not a very large town, but is very populous, andmuch frequented by strangers, being the centre of intercourse betweenPersia, Turkey, and Arabia, caravans going frequently from it to theseand other countries. It is well supplied with provisions, which arebrought from Armenia down the river Tigris, upon rafts made of goat skinbags blown full of wind, over which boards are laid, on which the goodsare loaded. When these are discharged, the skin bags are opened andemptied of air, and are then carried back to Armenia on camels to serveagain. Bagdat belonged formerly to Persia, but is now subject to theTurks. Over against Bagdat, on the other side of the Tigris, is a veryfair village, to which there is a passage across from Bagdat by a longbridge of boats, connected by a vast iron chain made fast at each sideof the river. When any boats have to pass up or down the river, apassage is made for them by removing some of the boats of this bridge.

The Tower of Babel is on this side of the Tigris towards Arabia, aboutseven or eight miles from Bagdat, being now ruined on all sides, andwith the ruins thereof hath made a little mountain, so that no shape orform of a tower remains. It was built of bricks dried in the sun, havingcanes and leaves of the palm-tree laid between the courses of bricks. Itstands in a great plain between the Tigris and Euphrates, and noentrance can be any where seen for going into it.

Near the river Euphrates, two days journey from Bagdat, in a field neara place called _Ait_, there is a hole in the ground which continuallythrows out boiling pitch accompanied by a filthy smoke, the pitchflowing into a great field which is always full of it. The _Moors_ callthis opening the mouth of hell; and on account of the great abundanceof the pitch, the people of the country daub all their boats two orthree inches thick with it on the outside, so that no water can enterthem. These boats are called _danec_. When there is plenty of water inthe Tigris, the boats may go down from Bagdat to Basora in eight or ninedays; but when the water is low it requires a longer time.

In times past, Basora belonged to the Arabs, but is now subject to theTurks. Yet there are some Arabs that the Turks cannot subdue, as theyoccupy certain islands in the great river Euphrates, which the Turkshave never been able to conquer. These Arabs are all thieves, and haveno settled dwelling, but remove from place to place with their camels,horses, goats, wives, children, and household goods. They wear largeblue gowns; their wives having their ears and noses full of copper andsilver rings, and wear copper rings on their legs. Basora is near thehead of the gulf of Persia, and drives a great trade in spiceries anddrugs, which come from Ormus. The country round produces abundance ofwhite rice and dates, with which they supply Bagdat and all the country,sending likewise to Ormus and India. I went from Basora to Ormus, downthe gulf of Persia, in a ship made of boards sewed together with_cayro_, which is a thread made of the husks of coco-nuts, and havingcertain canes, or leaves, or straw, sewed upon the seams between theboards, so that these vessels leak very much. Having Persia on our lefthand, and Arabia on our right, we passed many islands, and among othersthe famous isle of Baharin, or Bahrain, from which come the best androundest orient pearls.

Ormus is an island about 25 or 30 miles in circuit, which is perhaps themost arid and barren island in the world, as it produces nothing butsalt, all its water, wood, provisions, and every other necessary, comingfrom Persia, which is about 12 miles distant; but all the other islandsthereabout are very fertile, and from them provisions are sent to Ormus.The Portuguese have here a castle near the sea, with a captain and acompetent garrison, part of which dwell in the castle and part In thetown; in which likewise dwell merchants from all nations, together withmany Moors and Gentiles. This place has a great trade in spices, drugs,silk, cloth of silk, fine tapestry of Persia, great store of pearls fromBahrain, which are the best of all pearls, and many horses from Persiawhich supply all India. Their king is a Moor, or Mahomedan, who ischosen by the Portuguese, and is entirely under subjection to them.Their women are very strangely attired, wearing many rings set withjewels on their ears, noses, necks, arms, and legs, and locks of goldand silver in their ears, and a long bar of gold upon the sides of theirnoses. The holes in their ears are worn so wide with the weight of theirjewels, that one may thrust three fingers into them.

Very shortly after our arrival at Ormus we were put into prison, byorder of Don Mathias de Albuquerque, the governor of the castle, and hadpart of our goods taken from us; and on the 11th October, he shipped usfrom thence, sending us to the viceroy at Goa, who at that time was DonFrancisco de Mascarenhas. The ship in which we were embarked belonged tothe captain, who carried in it 124 horses for sale. All goods carried toGoa in a ship wherein there are horses pay no duties; but if there areno horses, you then pay eight in the hundred for your goods. The firstcity of India at which we arrived on the 5th November, after passing thecoast of _Zindi_, [Sindi] was named Diu, which stands in an island onthe coast of the kingdom of Cambaia, or Gujrat, and is the strongesttown belonging to the Portuguese in those parts. It is but small, yetabounds in merchandise, as they here load many ships with differentkinds of goods for the straits of Mecca or the Red Sea, Ormus, and otherplaces; these ships belong both to Christians and Moors, but the latterare not permitted to pass unless they have a Portuguese licence.Cambaietta, or Cambay, is the chief city of that province, being greatand populous and well built for a city of the gentiles. When therehappens a famine the natives sell their children for a low price. Thelast king of Cambaia was sultan Badur, who was slain at the siege ofDiu, and shortly after the capital city was reduced by the great_Mogor_, [Mogul] who is king of Agra and Delhi, forty days journey fromthence. Here the women wear upon their arms, a vast number of ivoryrings, in which they take so much pride that they would rather gowithout their meat than want their bracelets.

Going from Diu, we came to _Damaun_, the second town of the Portuguesein the country of Cambaia, forty leagues from Diu. This place, which hasno trade but in corn and rice, has many villages under its jurisdiction,which the Portuguese possess quietly during peace, but in time of warthey are all occupied by the enemy. From Damaun we passed to _Basaim_,[Baseen] and from thence to _Tanna_ in the island of Salsette, at bothwhich places the only trade is in rice and corn. The 10th November wearrived at _Chaul_ on the firm land, at which place there are two towns,one belonging to the Portuguese and the other to the Moors. That of thePortuguese is nearest the sea, commanding the bay, and is walled round;and a little above it is the Moors town, subject to a king called_Xa-Maluco_. At this place is a great trade for all Kinds of spices,drugs, silk, raw and manufactured, sandal-wood, elephants teeth, muchChina work, and a great deal of sugar made from the nut called _gagara_,[coco]. The tree on which it grows is called the _palmer_, and is themost profitable tree in the world. It always bears fruit, and yieldswine, oil, sugar, vinegar, cordage, coals, or fuel; of the leaves aremade thatch for houses, sails for ships, and mats to sit or lie on; ofthe branches are made houses, and brooms wherewith they sweep them; ofthe wood ships. The wine issues from the top of the tree, and isprocured thus: They cut a branch, binding it hard, and hang an earthenpot under the cut end, which they empty every evening and morning; andstill[403] the juice, putting raisins into it, by which it becomethstrong wine in a short time. Many ships come here from all parts ofIndia, and from Ormus and Mecca, so that there are many Moors andGentiles at this place. The natives have a strange superstition,worshipping a cow, and having cows dung in great veneration, insomuchthat they paint or daub the walls of their houses with it. They kill noanimal whatever, not so much as a louse, holding it a crime to take awaylife. They eat no flesh, living entirely on roots, rice, and milk. Whena man dies, his living wife is burnt along with his body, if she bealive; and if she will not, her head is shaven, and she is ever afterheld in low esteem. They consider it a great sin to bury dead bodies, asthey would engender many worms and other vermin, and when the bodieswere consumed these worms would lack sustenance; wherefore they burntheir dead. In all Guzerat they kill nothing; and in the town of Cambaythey have hospitals for lame dogs and cats, and for birds, and they evenprovide food for the ants.

[Footnote 403: I am apt to suspect the word _still_ here used, is onlymeant to imply fermentation, not distillation--E.]

Goa is the chief city of the Portuguese in India, in which their viceroyresides and holds his court. It stands in an island about 25 or 30 milesin circumference, being a fine city and very handsome for an Indiantown. The island is fertile and full of gardens and orchards, with manypalmer trees, and several villages. Here are many merchants of allnations. The fleet which sails every year from Portugal, consisting offour, five, or six great ships, comes first here, arriving mostly inSeptember, and remaining there forty or fifty days. It then goes toCochin, where the ships take in pepper for Portugal. Often one shiploads entirely at Goa, and the rest go to Cochin, which is 100 leaguesto the south. Goa stands in the country of Adel Khan, which is six orseven days journey inland, the chief city being Bisapor. [Bejapoor.]

On our arrival in Goa we were thrown into prison, and examined beforethe justice, who demanded us to produce letters, [of licence?] andcharged us with being spies; but they could prove nothing against us. Wecontinued in prison till the 22d December, when we were set at liberty,putting in surety for 2000 ducats not to depart from the town. Oursurety was one Andreas Taborer, who was procured for us by fatherStevens, an English Jesuit whom we found there, and another religiousman, a friend of his. We paid 2150 ducats into the hands of AndreasTaborer, our surety, who still demanded more; on which we petitioned theviceroy and justice to order us our money again, seeing they had it nearfive months, and could prove nothing against us. But the viceroy gave usa sharp answer, saying, we should be better sifted ere long, and thatthey had other matter against us. Upon this we determined to attemptrecovering our liberty, rather than run the risk of remaining as slavesfor ever in the country, and besides it was said we were to have the_strapado_. Wherefore, on the 5th of April 1585 in the morning, weremoved secretly from Goa; and getting across the river, we travelledtwo days on foot in great fear, not knowing the way, as having no guide,and not daring to trust any one.

One of the first towns we came to is called _Bellergan?_ where there isa great market of diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and many other preciousstones. From thence we went to _Bejapoor_, a very large city, where theking keeps his court, in which there are many Gentiles, who are grossidolaters, having their idols standing in the woods, which they callpagodas. Some of these are like a cow, some like a monkey, some like abuffalo, others resemble a peacock, and others like the devil. In thiscountry are many elephants, which they employ in their wars. They havegreat abundance of gold and silver, and their houses are lofty and wellbuilt. From thence we went to _Galconda_, the king of which is called_Cutub de lashach_. In this country, in the kingdom of Adel Khan, and inthe Decan, those diamonds are found which are called of the _old water_.Golconda is a pleasant fair town, having good and handsome houses ofbrick and timber, and it abounds with excellent fruits and good water.It is here very hot, and both men and women go about with only a clothbound about their middles, without any other clothing. The winter beginshere about the last of May.

About eight days journey from thence is a sea port called Masulipatan,toward the gulf of Bengal, to which many ships come out of India, Pegu,and Sumatra, richly laden with spiceries, pepper, and other commodities.The country is very fruitful. From thence I went to _Servidone?_ whichis a fine country, its king being called the _king of bread_. The houseshere are all built of loam and thatched. The country contains many Moorsand Gentiles, but there is not much religion among them. From thence Iwent to _Bellapore_, and so to _Barrampore_, which is in the country of_Zelabdim Echebar_ the great _Mogor_. In this place their money is ofsilver, round and thick, to the value of twenty-pence. It is a great andpopulous country; and in their winter, which is in June, July, andAugust, there is no passing the streets except on horseback, the watersare so high. In this country they make great quantities of cotton cloth,both white and painted, and the land produces great abundance of cornand rice. In the towns and villages through which we passed, we foundmany marriages celebrated between boys of eight or ten years old, andgirls of five or six. These youthful couples did ride both on one horse,very bravely dressed, and were carried about the streets with greatpiping and playing, after which they returned home and banqueted on riceand fruits, dancing most of the night, and so ended the marriage, whichis not consumated till the bride be ten years old. We were told theymarried their children thus young, because when a man dies his wife isburnt along with him; and by this device they secure a father-in-law, incase of the fathers death, to assist in bringing up the children thatare thus early married, thus taking care not to leave their sons withoutwives, or their daughters without husbands.

From thence we went to _Mandoway?_ a very strong town, which wasbesieged for twelve years by Echebar before he could reduce it. Itstands on a very great high rock, as do most of their castles, and is ofvery great circuit. From thence we went to _Vgini?_ and _Serringe?_where we overtook the ambassador of Zelabdim Echebar, attended by aprodigious retinue of men, elephants, and camels. In this district thereis a great trade carried on in cotton, and cloths made of cotton, andgreat store of drugs. From thence we went to Agra, passing many riverswhich were much swollen by the rains, so that in crossing them we hadoften to swim for our lives[404].

[Footnote 404: In this route from Masulipatan to Agra, there are severalplaces of which the names are so disfigured as to be unintelligible.Barrampore and Mandoway, are probably Burhampore and Candwah in thenorthern part of Candeish; Vgini and Serringe, may he Ougein and Serongein Malwa.--E.]

Agra is a very great and populous city built of stone, having large andhandsome streets, upon a fine river which falls into the gulf of Bengal,and has a strong and handsome castle with a broad and deep ditch. It isinhabited by many Moors and Gentiles, the king being Zelabdim Echebar,called for the most part the great _Mogor_. From thence we went to_Fatepore_, where the king ordinarily resides and holds his court, whichis called _Derican_. This town is larger than Agra, but the streets andhouses are by no means so good, but it is inhabited by a vast multitudeof people, both Moors and Gentiles. In Agra and Fatepoor, the king issaid to have 1000 elephants, 30,000 horses, 1400 tame deer, 800concubines, and such numbers of ounces, tigers, buffaloes, game-cocks,and hawks as is quite incredible. Agra and Fatepoor are two greatcities, either of them larger than London, and very populous, at thedistance of 12 miles from each other[405]. The whole road between theseplaces is one continued market of provisions and other articles, and isconstantly as full of people as a street or market in a great andpopulous town. These people have many fine carts, many of which arerichly carved and gilt, having two wheels, and are drawn by two littlebulls, not much larger than our biggest English dogs, which run withthese carts as fast as any horse, carrying two or three men in eachcart: They are covered with silk or fine cloth, and are used like ourcoaches in England. There is a great resort of merchants to this placefrom Persia and all parts of India, and vast quantities of merchandise,such as silks, cloths, and precious stones, diamonds, rubies, andpearls. The king is dressed in a white _cabie_ made like a shirt, andtied with strings on one side, having a small cloth on his head, oftencoloured red and yellow. None enter into his apartments, except theeunuchs who have charge of his women.

[Footnote 405: Futtipoor, certainly here meant, is now a place of smallimportance about 20 miles west from Agra.--E.]

We remained in Fatepore till the 28th of September 1585, when Mr JohnNewbery took his journey towards Lahore, intending to go from thencethrough Persia to Aleppo or Constantinople, whichever he could get thereadiest passage to; and he directed me to proceed to Bengal and Pegu,promising me, if it pleased God, to meet me at Bengal within two yearswith a ship from England[406]. I left William Leades the jeweller atFatepore, in the service of the king Zelabdim Achebar, who gave him goodentertainment, giving a house and five slaves, with a horse, and sixS.S. in money daily. I went from Agra to _Satagam_ in Bengal, in companywith 180 boats loaded with _salt_, opium, _hinge_, lead, carpets, andvarious other commodities, down the river _Jemena_, [Jumna]; the chiefmerchants being Moors.

[Footnote 406: In Purchas his Pilgrims, I. 110, is the following noticerespecting Mr Newberry: "Before that," meaning his journey along withFitch, "he had travelled to Ormus in 1580, and thence into theContinent, as may appear in fitter place by his journal, which I have,passing through the countries of Persia, Media, Armenia, Georgia, andNatolia, to Constantinople; and thence to the Danube, through Walachia,Poland, Prussia, and Denmark, and thence to England."]

In this country they have many strange ceremonies. The bramins, who aretheir priests, come to the water having a string about their necks, andwith many ceremonies lave the water with both their hands, turning thestring with both their hands in several manners; and though it be neverso cold, they wash themselves regularly at all times. These gentiles eatno flesh, neither do they kill any thing, but live on rice, butter,milk, and fruits. They pray in the water naked; and both dress and eattheir food naked. For penance, they lie flat on the earth, then rise upand turn themselves round 30 or 40 times, lifting their hands to thesun, and kiss the earth with their arms and legs stretched out; everytime they lie down making a score on the ground with their fingers, thatthey may know when the prescribed number of prostrations is finished.Every morning the Bramins mark their foreheads, ears, and throats, witha kind of yellow paint or earth; having some old men among them, who goabout with a box of yellow powder, marking them on the head and neck asthey meet them. Their women come in troops of 10, 20, and 30 together tothe water side singing, where they wash themselves and go through theirceremonies, and then mark themselves, and so depart singing. Theirdaughters are married at ten years of age, and the men may have sevenwives each. They are a crafty people, worse than the Jews. When theysalute one another, they say, _Rame_, _rame_.

From Agra I came to _Prage_[407], where the river Jumna enters into themighty Ganges, and there loses its name. The Ganges comes out of thenorth-west, and runs east to discharge its waters into the gulf ofBengal. In these parts there are many tigers, and vast quantities ofpartridges and turtle-doves, besides many other kinds of birds. Thereare multitudes of beggars in these countries, called _Schesche_, whichgo entirely naked. I here saw one who was a monster among the rest. Hehad no clothes whatever, his beard being very long, and the hair of hishead was so long and plentiful, that it covered his nakedness. The nailson some of his fingers were two inches long, as he would cut nothingfrom him; and besides he never spake, being constantly accompanied byeight or ten others, who spoke for him. If any one spoke to him, he laidhis hand on his breast and bowed, but without speaking, for he would nothave spoken to the king.

[Footnote 407: At the angle of junction between the rivers Jumna andGanges, the city of Allahabad is now situated.--E.]

We went from _Prage_ down the Ganges, which is here very broad, andabounds in various wild-fowl, as swans, geese, cranes, and many others,the country on both sides being very fertile and populous. For the mostpart the men have their faces shaven, but wear the hair of their headsvery long; though some have their crowns shaved, and others have alltheir heads shaven except the crown. The water of the river Ganges isvery sweet and pleasant, having many islands, and the adjoining countryis very fertile. We stopt at _Bannaras_, [Benares], a large town inwhich great quantities of cotton-cloths are made, and sashes for themoors. In this place all the inhabitants are gentiles, and the grossestidolaters I ever saw. To this town the gentiles come on pilgrimages outof far distant countries. Along the side of the river there are manyfair houses, in all or most of which they have ill favoured images madeof stone or wood; some like lions, leopards, or monkeys; some like menand women; others like peacocks; and others like the devil, having fourarms and four hands. These all sit cross-legged, some with one thing intheir hands, and others with other things; and by break of day orbefore, numbers of men and women come out of the town to these places,and wash in the Ganges. On mounds of earth made for the purpose, thereare divers old men who sit praying, and who give the people three orfour straws, which they hold between their fingers when they bathe inthe Ganges; and some sit to mark them in the forehead: And the devoteeshave each a cloth with a small quantity of rice, barley, or money, whichthey give to these old men when they have washed. They then go to one orother of the idols, where they present their sacrifices. When they havefinished their washings oblations and charities, the old men say certainprayers by which they are all sanctified.

In divers places there stand a kind of images, called _Ada_ in theirlanguage, having four hands with claws; and they have sundry carvedstones on which they pour water, and lay thereon some rice, wheat,barley and other things. Likewise they have a great place built ofstone, like a well, with steps to go down, in which the water is veryfoul and stinking, through the great quantity of flowers which arecontinually thrown into the water: Yet there are always many people inthat water, for they say that it purifies them from their sins, because,as they allege, God washed himself in that place. They even gather upthe sand or mud from the bottom, which they esteem holy. They never praybut in the water, in which they wash themselves over head, laving up thewater in both hands, and turning themselves about, they drink a littleof the water three times, and then go to the idols which stand in thehouses already mentioned. Some take of the water, with which they wash aplace of their own length, and then lie down stretched out, rising andlying down, and kissing the ground twenty or thirty times, yet keepingtheir right foot all the time in the same place. Some make theirceremonies with fifteen or sixteen pots, little and great, ringing alittle bell when they make their mixtures, ten or twelve times. Theymake a circle of water round about their pots and pray, divers sittingby them, and one in particular who reaches the pots to them; and theysay certain words many times over the pots, and when they have done,they go to their idols, before which they strew their sacrifices, whichthey think very holy, and mark many of those who sit by in theforeheads, which they esteem highly. There sometimes come fifty or evenan hundred together, to wash at this well, and to sacrifice to theseidols.

In some of these idol houses, there are people who stand by them in warmweather, fanning them as if to cool them; and when they see any companycoming, they ring a little bell which hangs beside them, when many givethem alms, particularly those who come out of the country. Many of theseidols are black and have brazen claws very long, and some ride uponpeacocks, or on very ill-favoured fowls, having long hawks bills, somelike one thing and some like another, but none have good faces. Amongthe rest, there is one held in great veneration, as they allege be givesthem all things, both food and raiment, and one always sits beside thisidol with a fan, as if to cool him. Here some are burned to ashes, andsome only scorched in the fire and thrown into the river, where the dogsand foxes come presently and eat them. Here the wives are burned alongwith the bodies of their deceased husbands, and if they will not, theirheads are shaven and they are not afterwards esteemed.

The people go all naked, except a small cloth about their middles. Thewomen have their necks, arms, and ears decorated with rings of silver,copper, and tin, and with round hoops of ivory, adorned with amberstones and many agates, and have their foreheads marked with a great redspot, whence a stroke of red goes up the crown, and one to each side. Intheir winter, which is in May, the men wear quilted gowns of cotton,like to our counterpanes, and quilted caps like our grocers largemortars, with a slit to look out at, tied beneath their ears. When a manor woman is sick and like to die, they are laid all night before theidols, either to help their sickness or make an end of them. If they donot mend that night, the friends come and sit up with them, and cry forsome time, after which they take them to the side of the river, layingthem on a raft of reeds, and so let them float down the river.

When they are married the man and woman come to the water side, wherethere is an old bramin or priest, a cow and calf, or a cow with calf.Then the man and woman, together with the cow and calf, go into theriver, giving the old bramin a piece of cloth four yards long, and abasket cross bound, in which are sundry things. The bramin lays thecloth on the back of the cow, after which he takes hold of the end ofthe cows tail, and says certain words. The woman has a brass or copperpot full of water; the man takes hold of the bramin with one hand, andthe woman with the other, all having hold of the cow by the tail, onwhich they pour water from the pot, so that it runs on all their hands.They then lave up water with their hands, and the bramin ties the manand woman together by their clothes[408]. When this is done, they goround about the cow and calf, and then give some alms to the poor, whoare always present, and to the bramin or priest they give the cow andcalf, after which they go to several of the idols, where they offermoney, lying down flat on the ground before the idol, and kissing theearth several times, after which they go away. Their chief idols areblack and very ugly, with monstrous mouths, having their ears gilded andfull of jewels, their teeth and eyes of gold, silver, or glass, andcarrying sundry things in their hands. You may not enter into the houseswhere they stand with your shoes on. In these houses there are lampscontinually burning before the idols.

[Footnote 408: This tying of new married folks together by the clothes,was used by the Mexicans in old times.--_Hakluyt_.]

From Benares I went down the Ganges to _Patenaw_, [Patna] passing manyfair towns and a very fertile country, in which way many great riversenter the Ganges, some as large as itself, by which it becomes so broadthat in time of the rains you cannot see across. The scorched bodieswhich are thrown into the water swim on the surface, the men with theirfaces down, and the women with theirs up. I thought they had tied someweight to their bodies for this purpose, but was told no such thing wasdone. There are many thieves in this country, who roam up and down likethe Arabs, having no fixed abode. Here the women are so decked withsilver and copper that it is strange to see them, and they wear so manyrings on their toes that they cannot use shoes. Here at Patna they findgold in this manner: They dig deep pits in the earth, and wash the earthin large holes, and in these they find gold, building the pits roundabout with bricks, to prevent the earth from falling in.

Patna is a long and large town, being formerly a separate kingdom, butis now under subjection to the great Mogor. The men are tall andslender, and have many old people among them. The houses are verysimple, being made of earth and covered with straw, and the streets arevery large. There is here a great trade in cotton and cotton cloth,likewise great quantities of sugar, which is carried to Bengal andIndia, much opium, and other commodities. He that is chief here underthe king is called _Tipperdas_, and is held in much estimation by thepeople. Here in Patna I saw a dissembling prophet, who sat on a horse inthe market-place, making as if he were asleep, and many of the peoplecame and touched his feet with their hands, which they then kissed. Theytook him for a great man, but in my opinion he was only a lazy lubber,whom I left sleeping there. The people of these countries are much givento these dissembling hypocrites.

From Patna I went to _Tanda_ in the land of _Gouren_[409], which is inthe country of Bengal. This is a place of great trade in cotton andcotton cloth, formerly a kingdom, but now subject to the great Mogor.The people are great idolaters, going naked with only a cloth abouttheir middles, and the country hath many tigers, wild buffaloes, andwild fowl. _Tanda_ is about a league from the river Ganges, as in timespast the river flowed over its banks in the rainy season, and drowned aconsiderable extent of country with many villages, and so it yetremains, and the old bed of the river still remains dry, by which meansthe city now stands at a distance from the water. From Agra I was fivemonths coming down the Jumna and the Ganges to Bengal, but it may besailed in much shorter time.

[Footnote 409: In our modern maps Tanda and the country or district ofGouren are not to be found; but the ruins of _Gour_, which may have somereference to Gouren, are laid down in lat. 24 deg. 52' N. long. 88 deg. 5' E.about seven miles from the main stream of the great Ganges, and tenmiles south from the town of Maida.--E.]

I went from Bengal into the country of _Couche_[410], which is 25 daysjourney north from Tanda. The king is a Gentile, named _Suckel Counse_.His country is very extensive, and reaches to within no great distanceof Cauchin China, whence they are said to procure pepper. The port iscalled _Cacchegate_. All the country is set with bamboos or canes madesharp at both ends, and driven into the earth, and they can let in thewater and drown the country above knee-deep, so that neither men norhorses can pass; and in case of any wars, they poison all the waters.The people are all Gentiles, who kill nothing, having their earsmarvellously great and a span long, which they draw out by variousdevices when young. They have much silk and musk, and cloth made ofcotton. They have hospitals for sheep, goats, dogs, cats, birds, and allkinds of living creatures, which they keep when old and lame until theydie. If a man bring any living creature into this country, they willgive money for it or other victuals, and either let it go at large orkeep it in their hospitals. They even give food to the ants. Their smallmoney is almonds[411], which they often eat.

[Footnote 410: This seemeth to be Quicheu, accounted by some among theprovinces of China.--_Hakluyt_.

The name of this country is so excessively corrupt, and the descriptionof the route so vague, that nothing can be made out of the text at thisplace with any certainty. It is merely possible that he may have goneinto Bootan, which is to the north of Bengal.--E.]

[Footnote 411: In Mexico they likewise use the cacao fruit, or chocolatenut, for small money, which are not unlike almonds.--_Hakluyt_.]

From thence I returned to _Hugeli_, [Hoogly in Bengal] which is theplace where the Portuguese have their residence in Bengal, being in lat.23 deg. N[412]. About a league from it is _Satagan_[413], called by thePortuguese _Porto Piqueno_, or the little port. We went through thewilderness, because the right way was infested by robbers. In passingthrough the country of Gouren we found few villages, being almost allwilderness, in which were many buffaloes, wild swine, and deer, withmany tigers, the grass being everywhere as tall as a man. Not far fromPorto Piqueno, to the south-westwards, and in the country of _Orixa_, isa sea-port called _Angeli_[414]. It was formerly a separate kingdom, theking being a great friend to strangers; but was afterwards taken by theking of Patna, who did not enjoy it long, being himself conquered by theking of Delhi, Agra, and Cambaia, Zelabdim Echebar. Orissa is six daysjourney south-westwards from _Satagan_. In this place there is much,rice, and cloth made of cotton; likewise great store of cloth made ofgrass, which they call _Yerva_, resembling silk, of which they makeexcellent cloth, which is sent to India and other places[415]. To thishaven of _Ingelly_ there come many ships every year out of India,Negapatnam, Sumatra, Malacca, and many other places, and load from hencegreat quantities of rice, much cotton cloths, sugar and long pepper, andgreat store of butter and other provisions for India[416]. Satagan is avery fair city for one belonging to the Moors, and is very plentiful inall things. In Bengal they have every day a great market or fair, called_chandeau_, in one place or other, and they have many boats called_pericose_, with which they go from place to place to buy rice and manyother things. These boats are rowed by 24 or 26 oars, and are of greatburden, but are quite open. The gentiles hold the water of the Ganges ingreat reverence; for even if they have good water close at hand, theywill send for water from the Ganges at a great distance. If they havenot enough of it to drink, they will sprinkle a little of it uponthemselves, thinking it very salutary.

[Footnote 412: More accurately 22 deg. 55' 20" N. and long. 88 deg. 28' E. Hooglystands on the western branch of the Ganges, called the Hoogly river,about twenty miles direct north from Calcutta.--E.]

[Footnote 413: We thus are enabled to discover nearly the situation ofSatagan or Satigan, to have been on the Hoogly river, probably whereChinsura now stands, or it may have been Chandernagor.--E.]

[Footnote 414: Injelly, at the mouth of a small river which falls intothe Hoogly, very near its discharge into the bay of Bengal. Injelly isnot now considered as in Orissa, but in the district of Hoogly belongingto Bengal, above forty miles from the frontiers--E.]

[Footnote 415: A similar cloth may be made of the long grass which growsin Virginia.--_Hakluyt_.]

From Satagan I travelled by the country of the King of Tippara, or_Porto Grande_[417]. The _Mogores_ or _Mogen_ [Moguls] have almostcontinual wars with Tiperah; the Mogen of the kingdom of _Recon_ and_Rame_, are stronger than the King of Tiperah, so that Cittigong orPorto Grande is often under the dominion of the king of _Recon_[418].There is a country four days journey from _Couche_ called_Bottanter_[419], the principal city of which is _Bottia_, and the kingis called _Dermain_. The people are tall, strong, and very swift. Manymerchants come here out of China, and it is said even from Muscovy andTartary, to purchase musk, _cambals_, agates, silk, pepper, and saffron,like the saffron of Persia[420]. This country is very great, being notless than three months journey in extent, and contains many highmountains, one of them so steep and high that it may be perfectly seenat the distance of six days journey[421]. There are people on thesemountains having ears a span long, and they call such as have not longears asses. They say that from these mountains _they see ships sailingon the sea_, but know not whence they come nor whither they go. Thereare merchants who come out of the east from under the sun, which is fromChina, having no beards, who say their country is warm; but others comefrom the north, on the other side of the mountains, where it is verycold. These merchants from the north are apparelled in woollen cloth andhats, with close white hose or breeches and boots, who come from Muscovyor Tartary. These report that they have excellent horses in theircountry, but very small; some individuals possessing four, five, or sixhundred horses and cattle. These people live mostly on milk and flesh.They cut off the tails of their cows, and sell them very dear, as theyare in high request in those parts. The rump is only a span long, butthe hair is a yard in length. These tails are used for show, to hangupon the heads of elephants, and are much sought after in Pegu andChina.

[Footnote 417: Perhaps this ought to have been, by the country of Tipera_to_ Porto Grande. Porto Grande, formerly called Chittigong, is nowcalled Islamabad, and is in the district of Chittigong, the mosteasterly belonging to Bengal.--E.]

[Footnote 418: Aracan is certainly here meant by _Recon_; of _Rame_nothing can be made, unless Brama, or Birmah be meant.--E.]

[Footnote 419: _Bottanter_ almost certainly means Bootan. Of _Bottia_ weknow nothing, but it is probably meant to indicate the capital._Dermain_ may possibly be some corruption of _Deb raja_, the title ofthe sovereign. It is obvious from this passage, that _Couche_ must havebeen to the south of Bootan, and was perhaps Coch-beyhar, a town anddistrict in the north-east of Bengal, near the Bootan frontier.--E.]

[Footnote 420: The saffon of Persia of the text may perhaps mean_turmeric_. The cambals may possibly mean camblets.--E.]

[Footnote 421: These seem to be the mountains of Imaus, called Cumao bythe natives.--_Hakluyt_.

The Himmaleh mountains, dividing Bootan from Thibet, said to be visiblefrom the plains of Bengal at the distance of 150 miles.--E.]

From Chittigong in Bengal, I went to _Bacola_[422], the king of whichcountry is a Gentile of an excellent disposition, who is particularlyfond of shooting with a gun. His country is large and fertile, havinggreat abundance of rice, and manufactures much silk, and cloths ofcotton. The houses of this city are good and well built, with largestreets. The people go naked, except a cloth round their waists, and thewomen wear many silver hoops about their necks and arms, and rings ofsilver, copper, and ivory about their legs. From thence I went to_Serrepore_ upon the Ganges, the king or rajah of which is calledChondery. They are all hereabouts in rebellion against the great Mogul,for there are so many rivers and islands that they escape from one toanother, so that his horsemen cannot prevail against them. Great storeof cotton cloth is made here. _Sinnergan_ is a town six leagues from_Serrepore_, where the best and finest cotton cloth of all the east ismade[423]. The chief king of all those countries is called Isa-khan,being supreme over all the other kings or rajahs, and is a great friendto the Christians. Here, as in most parts of India, the houses are verysmall and covered with straw, having a few mats hung round the walls andover the door-way, to keep out tigers and foxes. They live on rice,milk, and fruits, eating no flesh and killing no animals; and thoughmany of them are very rich, their sole article of dress is a small clothbefore them. From hence they send great quantities of cotton cloths andmuch rice, all over India, Pegu, Malacca, Sumatra, and other places.

[Footnote 422: Perhaps Pucouloe, a place of some size near Davas betweenthe Ganges and Burhampooter rivers.--E.]

[Footnote 423: Serampoor on the Hoogly river agrees at least in soundwith the Serrepore of the text; but, from the context, I rather suspectSerrepore to have stood among the numerous islands of the great easternGanges, in the province of Dava, and near the junction of the Ganges andBurhampooter or Megna rivers. Of Sinnergan I can make nothing, only thatit must have stood in the same district.--E.]

I went from Serrepore the 28th of November 1586 for Pegu, in a smallship or foist, commanded by one Albert Caravallos, and sailing down theGanges, we passed by the island of Sundiva, Porto grande, or Chittigong,in the country of Tiperah, and the kingdom of Recon and Mogen[424],leaving all on our left hand, our course being south by east, with thewind at north-west, which brought us to the bar of Negrais in Pegu. Hadwe met with a foul wind, we must have thrown many things overboard, forwe were so lumbered with people and goods, even on the deck, that therewas scarce a place to sit down upon. From Bengal to Pegu is 90 leagues.We entered the bar of Negrais, [at the mouth of the western branch ofthe river of Ava], which is an excellent bar, having four fathoms waterwhere shallowest. Three days afterwards we came to Cosmin, a very prettytown, pleasantly situated and abounding in all things. The people aretall and well disposed; the women white, round faced, and having smalleyes. The houses are high built, set upon great high posts, and they goup to them by means of ladders for fear of the tigers, which are verynumerous. The country is very fertile, abounding in great figs, oranges,coconuts, and other fruits. The land is very high on the sea coast, butafter getting within the bar, it is very low and much intersected withrivers, so that they go everywhere in boats, which they call _paraos_,in which many of them dwell with their wives and children.

[Footnote 424: Recon has already been supposed to be Aracan, which isnow quite obvious; but in what manner Mogen may refer to Ava, the nextcountry to the south, does not appear.--E.]

From the bar of Negrais to the city of Pegu, is ten days journey by therivers. We went from _Cosmin_ to Pegu in paraos or boats, and passing upthe river we came to _Medon_, a very pretty town, having a wonderfulnumber of paraos, for they dwell in them, and hold markets on the water.In rowing up and down with their commodities in these boats, they have agreat _sombrero_ or umbrella over their heads, to defend them from thesun, as broad and round as a great cart wheel, made of the leaves of thecoco or the fig tree, which are very light. From Medon we went to Dela,where there are 18 or 20 great long houses, where they tame and keepmany elephants belonging to the king, as elephants are caught in thewilderness near this place. From Dela we went to _Cirian_, [Siriam] agood town having an excellent sea-port, to which come many ships fromMecca, Malacca, Sumatra, and other places; and there the ships dischargetheir cargoes, and send up their goods in paraos to Pegu. From Siriam wewent to _Macao_, a pretty town, where we left the boats, and in themorning taking _delingeges_, which are a kind of couches made of cordsand quilted cloth, carried on a _stang_, or long pole, by three or fourmen, we came to Pegu the same day.

Pegu is a great strong and fair city, having walls of stone and greatditches all round about. It consists of two towns, the old and the new.In the old town dwell all the stranger merchants, and very many nativemerchants, and all the goods are sold in the old town, which is verylarge, and hath many extensive suburbs all round about it, all thehouses being of bamboo canes and covered with straw. In your house,however, you have a warehouse, which they call a _godown_, built ofbricks, in which to keep your goods, as often the city takes fire, andfour or five hundred houses are burnt down, so that these _godowns_ arevery useful to save your goods. The king with all his nobility andgentry dwell in the new town, which is a great and populous city,entirely square with fair walls, and a great ditch all round about fullof water, in which are many crocodiles. It has twenty gates, five oneach side of the square, all built of stone. There are also many turretsfor centinels, made of wood and splendidly gilded. The streets are thehandsomest I ever saw, all as straight as a line from one gate to theother, and so broad that ten or twelve men may ride abreast throughthem. On both sides, at every door, there are palmer trees planted,which bear coco-nuts, and which make a fine shew as well as a commodiousshade, so that the people may walk all day in the shade. The houses areof wood, covered with tiles.

The palace of the king stands in the middle of this city, and is walledand ditched all round, all the houses within being of wood verysumptuously gilded, and the fore-front is of very rich workmanship, allgilded in a very costly manner. The pagoda, or house in which his idolsstand, is covered with tiles of silver, and all the walls are gilt overwith gold. Within the first gate of the palace is a very large court, onboth sides of which are the houses for the king's elephants, which arewonderfully large and handsome, and are trained for war and for theking's service. Among the rest, he has four white elephants, which are agreat rarity, no other king having any but he; and were any other kingto have any, he would send for it, and if refused would go to war forit, and would rather lose a great part of his kingdom than not have theelephant. When any white elephant is brought to the king, all themerchants in the city are commanded to go and visit him, on whichoccasion each individual makes a present of half a ducat, which amountsto a good round sum, as there are a vast many merchants, after whichpresent you may go and see them at your pleasure, although they stand inthe king's house. Among his titles, the king takes that of king of thewhite elephants. They do great honour and service to these whiteelephants, every one of them having a house gilded with gold, andgetting their food in vessels of gilt silver. Every day when they go tothe river to wash, each goes under a canopy of cloth of gold or silk,carried by six or eight men, and eight or ten men go before each,playing on drums, _shawms_, and other instruments. When each has washedand is come out of the river, he has a gentleman to wash his feet in asilver basin, which office is appointed by the king. There is no suchaccount made of the black elephants, be they never so great, and some ofthem are wonderfully large and handsome, some being nine cubits high.

The king has a very large place, about a mile from Pegu, for catchingwild elephants, in a great grove or wood, having a fair court in themiddle. There are many huntsmen, who go into the wilderness withshe-elephants, trained for the purpose, each huntsman having five or sixwhich are anointed with a certain ointment to entice the wild males tofollow them. When they have brought a wild elephant within their snares,the hunters send word to the town, on which many horsemen and footmen goout, and force the wild elephant to enter into a narrow way leading tothe inner inclosure, and when the he and she are in, then is the gateshut upon them. They then get the female out, and when the male findshimself alone and entrapped, he cries out and sheds tears, runningagainst the enclosure, which is made of strong trees, and some of thembreak their tusks in endeavouring to force their way out. The peoplethen goad him with pointed canes, till they force him into a narrowstall, in which he is securely fastened with strong ropes about his bodyand legs, and is left there for three or four days without food ordrink. Then they bring a female to him, with food and drink, and unbindthe ropes, and he becomes tame in three or four days. When they take theelephants to war, they fix a frame of wood on their backs with greatropes, upon which sit four or six men, who fight with guns, bows andarrows, darts, and other weapons; and it is said that the elephant'shide is so thick that a musket ball will not pierce them, except in sometender place.

The weapons of these people are very bad, their swords being short andblunt at the points. They have arquebusses also, but they shoot verybadly with them. The king keeps great state, sitting in public twiceevery day, having all his nobles, which they call _shemines_, sitting oneach side at a good distance, and a numerous guard on the outside ofall, so that the hall, or court is very large. If any one wish to speakto the king, he maketh three profound reverences, when he enters, inthe mid way, and when he comes near the king; at each of these he kneelsdown, holds his hands above his head, and bows with his head to theground three times. He then sits down to speak to the king, and iffavoured is allowed to come near, within three or four paces, butotherwise is made to sit at a greater distance. When the king goes towar he is accompanied by a great military force. While I was in Pegu, hewent to Odia, in the kingdom of Siam, with 300,000 men and 5000elephants. His particular guard was 30,000. When the king rides abroad,he is accompanied by a strong guard and many nobles, and often rides onan elephant having a great castle on its back superbly gilded; sometimeshe travels on a great frame of wood like a horse-litter, having a smallhouse or canopy upon it, covered over head, and open at the sides, whichis all splendidly gilded with gold, and adorned with many rubies andsapphires, of which he hath an infinite store, as a vast many of themare found in this country. This couch or litter is called _serrion_ intheir language, and is carried on the shoulders of 16 or 18 men. Onthese occasions, there is much triumphing and shouting made before theking, by great numbers of men and women.

This king has little force by sea, having very few ships. He has housesquite full of gold and silver, both of which are often coming in to him,but very little goes out again, so that he makes little account of it,and this vast treasury is always open to inspection, in a great walledcourt with two gates, which are always open to all men. In this courtthere are four houses very richly gilded and covered with leaden roofs,in each of which is a pagod or idol, of huge stature and vast value. Inthe first of these houses is the image of a king, all in gold, having agolden crown on his head richly set with large rubies and sapphires, andround about are the images of four children all in gold. In the secondhouse is the image of a man in silver, of prodigious size, as high as ahouse, insomuch that the foot is as long as the stature of a man. Thisfigure is in a sitting posture, having a crown on its head, richlyadorned with precious stones. In the third house is the statue of a manin brass, still larger than the former, with a rich crown on its head.In the fourth house is another brazen statue, still larger than theformer, having also a crown on its head richly adorned with jewels. Inanother court not far from this, there are four other pagodas or idolsof wonderful size, made of copper, which were formed in the places inwhich they now stand, being of such enormous size that they could not beremoved. These stand in four separate houses, and are gilded all overexcept their heads, which resemble black-a-moors. The expences of thesepeople in gilding their images are quite enormous. The king has only onewife, but above 300 concubines, by whom he is said to have 80 or 90children. He sits in judgment every day, on which occasion theapplicants use no speech, but give up their supplications in writing,being upon long slips of the leaves of a tree, a yard long and about twoinches broad, written with a pointed iron or stile like a bodkin. He whogives in his application, stands at some distance carrying a present. Ifhis application is to be complied with, his present is accepted and hisrequest granted; but if his suit be denied he returns home with hispresent.

There are few commodities in India which serve for trade at Pegu, exceptopium of Cambaia, painted cottons from San Thome or Masulipatam, andwhite cloth of Bengal, vast quantities of which are sold here. Theybring likewise much cotton yarn, dyed red with a root called _saia_,which never loses its colour, a great quantity of which is sold yearlyin Pegu at a good profit. The ships from Bengal, San Thome, andMasulipatam, come to the bar of Negrais and to Cosmin. To Martaban,another sea-port in the kingdom of Pegu, many ships come from Malacca,with sandal-wood, porcelains, and other wares of China, camphor ofBorneo, and pepper from Acheen in the island of Sumatra. To Siriam,likewise a port of Pegu, ships come from Mecca with woollen cloth,scarlet, velvets, opium, and other goods.

In Pegu there are eight brokers called _tareghe_, which are bound tosell your goods at the prices they are worth, receiving as their fee twoin the hundred, for which they are bound to make good the price, becauseyou sell your goods on their word. If the broker do not pay you on theday appointed, you may take him home to your house and keep him there,which is a great shame for him. And, if he do not now pay youimmediately, you may take his wife, children, and slaves, and bind themat your door in the sun; for such is the law of the country. Theircurrent money is of brass, which they call _ganza_, with which you maybuy gold, silver, rubies, musk, and all other things. Gold and silver isreckoned merchandise, and is worth sometimes more and sometimes less,like all other wares, according to the supply and demand. The ganza orbrass money goes by weight, which they call a _biza_; and commonly thisbiza is worth, in our way of reckoning, about half a crown or somewhatless. The merchandises in Pegu are, gold, silver, rubies, sapphires,spinels, musk, benzoin, frankincense, long pepper, tin, lead, copper,_lacca_, of which hard sealing-wax is made, rice, wine made of rice,[_aruck_,] and some sugar. The elephants eat sugar canes in greatquantities, or otherwise they might make abundance of sugar.

They consume many canes likewise[425], in making their _varellas_ oridol temples, of which there are a prodigious multitude, both large andsmall. These are made round like a sugar loaf, some being as high as achurch, and very broad beneath, some being a quarter of a mile incompass. Within these are all of earth, faced round with stone. In these_varellas_ they consume a vast quantity of gold, as they are all gildedaloft, and some from top to bottom; and they must be newly gilded everyten or twelve years, because the rain washes off the gold, as they allstand exposed to the weather. Were it not for the prodigious quantitiesof gold consumed in this manner, it would be very plentiful and cheap inPegu. About two days journey from Pegu there is a _varella_ or pagodacalled _dogonne_, of wonderful bigness, gilded all over from top tobottom, to which the inhabitants of Pegu go in pilgrimage; and near itis a house where their talapoins or priests preach to the people. Thishouse is fifty five paces long, and hath three _pawnes_ or covered walksin it, the roof being supported by forty great gilded pillars, whichstand between the walks. It is open on all sides, having a vast numberof small gilded pillars, and the whole is gilded both within andwithout. Round about this there are many fair houses for the pilgrims todwell in, and many goodly houses in which the talapoins preach, whichare all full of idols or images, both male and female, all gilded withgold. This, in my opinion, is the fairest place in the world. It standsvery high, having four roads leading to it, all planted on each sidewith fruit-trees, so that the people walk in the shade in all theseavenues, which are each above two miles long. When the grand festivalof this varella approaches, one can hardly pass any way, on account ofthe great throngs of people, both by land and water, as they flock fromall parts of the kingdom of Pegu to be present at the festival.

[Footnote 425: Surely the bamboo, not the sugar cane. It may be noticed,that almost the whole of this account of Pegu seems to have beenborrowed from the relation of Cesar Frederick.--E.]

In Pegu, there are many priests or talapoins, as they are called, whopreach against all abuses, and many people resort to hear them. Whenthey enter into the _kiack_, that is to say the holy place or temple,there is a great jar of water at the door, having a cock or ladle, andthere they wash their feet. They then walk in, and lift their hands totheir heads, first to the preacher, and then to the sun, after whichthey sit down. The talapoins are strangely apparelled, having a brown_cambaline_ or thin cloth next their body, above which is another ofyellow many times doubled or folded over their shoulders, and these twoare girded round them by a broad girdle. They have a skin of leatherhung by a string round their necks, on which they sit, bare headed andbare footed, as they wear no shoes. Their right arms are all bare, andthey carry a large _sombrero_ or umbrella over their heads, whichprotects them from the sun in summer, and from the rain in winter.

Before taking their orders, the talapoins go to school till, twentyyears old or more, and then go before a head talapoin appointed for thepurpose, called a _rowli_, who is the most learned of the order, whoexamines them many times, whether they will leave their friends,foregoing the company of women, and assume the habit of a talapoin. Ifany one be content, he is made to ride through the streets on a horse,very richly apparelled, accompanied by many drums and trumpets, to shewthat he is about to quit the riches and vanity of the world. A few daysafterwards, he is again carried through the streets, on a thing like ahorse litter, called _serion_, mounted on the shoulders of ten or twelvemen, and dressed in the habit of a talapoin, preceded by drums andinstruments of music, and accompanied by many talapoins and all hisfriends. He is thus carried to his house without side of the town, andis there left.

Every individual talapoin has his own house, which is very small, setupon six or eight posts, and to which they have to go up by a ladder oftwelve or fourteen staves. Their houses are mostly by the road sides,and among the trees in the woods. They go about, having a great pot ofwood or fine earthen ware covered, and hung by a broad belt from theirshoulder, with which they beg their victuals, being rice, fish, andherbs. They never ask any thing, but come to the doors, when the peoplepresently give them, some one thing and some another, all of which theyput into their pot, saying they must feed on their alms and becontented. Their festivals are regulated by the moon, their chiefestbeing at the new moon, when the people send rice and other things to the_kiack_ or church which they frequent, where all the talapoins belongingto it meet and eat the victuals that are sent. When the talapoinspreach, many of their hearers carry gifts to them in the pulpit, whilepreaching, a person sitting beside the preacher to receive these gifts,which are divided between them. So far as I could see, they have noother ceremonials or religious service, except preaching.

From Pegu I went to _Jamahey_, in the country of the _Langeiannes_, whomwe call _Jangomes_, which is twenty-five days journey north fromPegu[426], in which journey I passed through many fertile and pleasantcountries, the whole being low land, with many fine rivers; but thehouses are mean and bad, being built of canes and covered with straw.This country has great numbers of wild elephants and buffaloes._Jamahey_ is a large handsome town, well peopled, and the houses arewell built of stone, with broad streets. The men are strong and wellmade, having a cloth about their middles, bareheaded and with bare feet,as in all these countries they wear no shoes. The women are much fairerthan those of Pegu. In all these countries they have no wheat, livingentirely on rice, which they make into cakes. To Jamahey there come manymerchants out of China, bringing great store of musk, gold, silver, andmany Chinese manufactures. They have here such great abundance ofprovisions, that they do not take the trouble to milk the buffaloes asthey do in other places. Here there is great abundance of copper andbenzoin.

[Footnote 426: The names here used are so corrupted as to be utterlyunintelligible. Twenty-five days journey north from the city of Pegu, orperhaps 500 miles, would lead the author into the northern provinces ofthe Birman empire, of which the geography is very little known, perhapsinto Assan: Yet the _Langeiannes_ may possibly refer to _Lang-shang_ inLaos, nearly west from Pegu. _Jamahey_ may be _Shamai_, in the north ofLaos; near the N.W. frontier of China.--E.]

In these countries, when people are sick, they make a vow to offer meatto the devil in case of recovery; and when they recover, they make abanquet, with many pipes and drums and other musical instruments,dancing all night, and their friends bring gifts of coco-nuts, figs,arecas, and other fruits, and with much dancing and rejoicing theyoffer these to the devil, giving him to eat, and then drive him out.While dancing and playing, they often cry and hallow aloud, to drive thedevil away. While sick, a talapoin or two sit every night by the sickperson, continually singing, to please the devil, that he may not hurtthem. When any one dies, he is carried on a great frame of wood like atower, having a covering or canopy made of canes all gilded, which iscarried by fourteen or sixteen men, preceded by drums, pipes, and otherinstruments, and being taken to a place out of the town, the body isthere burned. On this occasion, the body is accompanied by all the malefriends, relations, and neighbours of the deceased; and they give thetalapoins or priests many mats and much cloth. They then return to thehouse, where they feast for two days. After this, the widow, with allher neighbours wives, and female friends, goes to the place where herhusband was burnt, where they sit a certain time lamenting, and thengather up all the pieces of bones which have not been burnt to ashes,which they bury; they then return home, and thus make an end ofmourning. On these occasions, the male and female relations shave theirheads, which is only done for the death of a friend, as they greatlyesteem their hair.

_Caplan_, the place where the rubies, sapphires and spinels are found,is six days journey from Ava in the kingdom of Pegu. There are here manygreat hills out of which they are dug, but no person is allowed to go tothe pits, except those employed in digging. In Pegu, and in all thecountries of Ava, Langeiannes, Siam, and of the Birmans, the men wearlittle round balls in their privities, some having two and some three,being put in below the skin, which is cut for that purpose, one on oneside and another on the other, which they do when 25 or 30 years of age.These were devised that they might not abuse the male sex, to whichshocking vice they were formerly much addicted. It was also ordained,that the women should not have more than three cubits of cloth in theirunder garments, which likewise are open before, and so tight, that whenthey walk they shew the leg bare above the knee.

The _bramas_, or birmans of the kings country, for the king is a birman,have their legs or bellies, or some other part of their body accordingto their fancy made black by pricking the skin, and rubbing in _anile_or indigo, or some other black powder, which continues ever after; andthis is considered as a great honour, none being allowed to do this butthe birmans who are of kin to the king. Those people wear no beards, butpull out the hair from their faces with small pincers made for thepurpose. Some leave 16 or 20 hairs growing together, some on one part ofthe face and some on another, and pull out all the rest; every mancarrying his pincers with him, and pulling out the hairs as fast as theyappear. If they see a man with a beard they wonder at him. Both men andwomen have their teeth black; for they say a dog has white teeth, andtherefore they have theirs black. When the Peguers have a law-suit thatis difficult to determine, they place two long canes upright in thewater where it is very deep, and both parties go into the water besidethe poles, having men present to judge them; they both dive, and he whoremains longest under water gains his suit.

The 10th of January, I went from Pegu to Malacca, passing many of thesea-ports of Pegu, as Martaban, the island of _Tavi_ whence all India issupplied with tin, Tanaserim, the island of Junkselon, and many others.I came on the 8th of February to Malacca, where the Portuguese have acastle near the sea. The country without the town belongs to the Malays,who are a proud kind of people, going naked with a cloth about theirwaists, and a small roll of cloth round their heads. To this place comemany ships from China, the Moluccas, Banda, Timor, and many otherislands of the Javas, bringing great store of spices, drugs, diamonds,and other precious stones. The voyages to many of these islands belongto the captain of Malacca, so that no one can go there without hislicence, by which he draws large sums of money every year. ThePortuguese at Malacca are often at war with the king of Acheen in theisland of Sumatra; from whence comes great store of pepper and otherspices yearly to Pegu, Mecca, and other places.

When the Portuguese go from Macao in China to Japan, they carry muchwhite silk, gold, musk, and porcelain, and bring from thence nothing butsilver. A great carak goes on this voyage every year, and brings fromthence about 600,000 crusadoes: and all this silver of Japan, and200,000 more which they bring yearly from India, they employ to greatadvantage in China, whence they bring gold, musk, silk, copper,porcelains, and many very costly articles richly gilded. When thePortuguese go to Canton in China to trade, they are only permitted toremain there a certain number of days. When they enter the gates of thecity, they have to set down their names in a book, and when they go outat night must put out their names, as they are not allowed to remain inthe town all night, but must sleep in their boats. When their time ofstay is expired, if any one remain, he is liable to be imprisoned andvery ill used, as the Chinese are very suspicious and do not truststrangers; and it is even thought that the king of China does not knowof any strangers being admitted into his dominions. It is likewisecredibly reported, that the people of China see their king very seldom,or not at all, and may not even look up to the place where he sits. Whenhe goes abroad, he is carried in a great chair or _serion_, splendidlygilded, on which is made a small house with a lattice to look through,so that he cannot be seen but may see about him. While he is passing,all the people kneel with their faces to the ground, holding their handsover their heads, and must not look up till he is past.

In China, when in mourning, the people wear white thread shoes and strawhats. A man mourns two years for his wife, the wife three years for herhusband, the son a year for his father, and two years for his mother.During the whole time of mourning the dead body is kept in the house,the bowels being taken out, filled with _chaunam_ or lime, and put intoa coffin. When the time expires, it is carried out with much playing andpiping, and burned. After this they pull off their mourning weeds, andmay marry again when they please. All the people of China, Japan, andCochin-china, write downwards, from the top of the page to the bottomusing a fine pencil made of dogs or cats hair.

_Laban_ is an island among the Javas, whence come the diamonds of _thenew water_. They are there found in the rivers, as the king will notallow them to be dug for in the rock. _Jamba_ is another island amongthe Javas, from whence also diamonds are brought. In this island theking has a mass of earth growing in the middle of the river, which isgold; and when he is in want of gold, they cut part of this earth andmelt it, whereof cometh gold. This mass of earth is only to be seen oncea year, in the month of April, when the water is low. _Bima_ is anotherisland among the Javas, where the women labour as our men do in England,and the men keep the house or go where they will[427].

[Footnote 427: All the names of these islands among the Javas, or islesof Sunda are unintelligibly corrupt.--E.]

The 28th of March 1588, I returned from Malacca to Martaban, and thenceto Pegu, where I remained the second time till the 17th of September,and then went to Cosmin where I took shipping; and escaping many dangersfrom contrary winds, it pleased God that we arrived in Bengal inNovember. I had to remain there, for want of a passage, till the 3dFebruary 1589, when I embarked for Cochin. In this voyage we sufferedgreat hardships for want of water; for the weather was very hot, and wewere many on board, merchants and passengers, and we had many calms. Itpleased God that we arrived in Ceylon on the 6th of March, where westaid five days, to furnish ourselves with water and necessaryprovisions.

Ceylon is a beautiful and fertile island, yet by reason of continualwars with the king, every thing is very dear, as he will not suffer anything to be brought to the castle belonging to the Portuguese, so thatthey are often in great want of victuals, and they are forced to bringtheir provisions every year from Bengal. The king is called rajah and isvery powerful, for he comes sometimes against Columbo, where thePortuguese have their fort, with 100,000 men and many elephants. Butthey are all naked people, though many of them are excellent marksmenwith their muskets. When the king talks with any man, he stands on oneleg, setting the other foot on his knee, with his sword in his hand; as,according to their customs the king never sits. He is dressed in a finepainted cotton cloth wrapped about his middle; his hair long and boundabout his head with a small fine cloth, and all the rest of his bodynaked. His guard is a thousand men, which stand round about him. Theyare all Chingalese, who are said to be the best kind of the Malabars.They have very large ears, as the larger they are the more honourablethey are esteemed, some being a span long. They burn the wood of thecinnamon tree, which gives a pleasant scent. In this island there isgreat store of rubies, sapphires, and spinels of the best kind, but theking will not allow the inhabitants to dig for them, lest they shouldtempt his enemies to make war upon him and deprive him of his dominions.There are no horses in this country, but many elephants, which are notso large as those of Pegu, which are of prodigious size; yet it is saidall other elephants are afraid of those of Ceylon, and refuse to fightthem, though small. The women of this island wear a cloth round theirmiddles, reaching only to the knees, all the rest of their bodies beingbare. Both men and women are black and very little. Their houses aresmall, being constructed of the branches of the palmer or coco tree, andcovered with the leaves of the same tree.

The 11th of March we departed from Ceylon and doubled Cape Comorin. Notfar from thence, between Ceylon and the main-land of India atNegapatnam, they fish for pearls every year, whence all India, Cambaya,and Bengal are supplied. But these pearls are _not so orient_ [are notso round or of so fine a water] as those of Bahrain in the gulph ofPersia. From Cape Comorin we went to Coulan, a fort of the Portuguese,whence comes great store of pepper for Portugal, as frequently one ofthe caraks is laden here. We arrived at Cochin on the 22d of March,where we found the weather very warm, and a great scarcity ofprovisions, as neither corn nor rice grows here, having mostly to besupplied from Bengal. They have here very bad water, as the river is faroff; and by this bad water many of the people are like lepers, and manyhave their legs swollen as big as a mans waist, so that they can hardlywalk. The people here are Malabars, of the race of the Nairs of Calicut,who differ much from the other Malabars. These have their heads veryfull of hair, bound up with a string, above which is a great bush ofhair. The men are tall and strong, and excellent archers, using a long